HeartGold and SoulSilver are remakes, that’s true, but the quality here is capable to impress those who played the original as the ones that enter this world for the first time.
When I was younger I was patiently waiting for this release. I grew up playing generation 2 so this review is most certainly biased.
Stands the test of time as an extremely well produced game with so much content and activities. I believe that this version is the definitive Pokemon game.
If you’re a Pokemon fanatic, the kind that has bought every last iteration Nintendo has released, then you’ve most likely already purchased either Heartgold/SoulSilver. However, if you’ve only dabbled in the series, it’s still highly recommended you give one of these two a try.
While it is, at its core, the same game that you've played many years ago, it still manages to feel new and the updated features bolster the original experience in a manner that never intrudes and only enhances. Put short, this is a lot of fun and something that a huge amount of DS owners should look into.
Even though the classic Pokémon formula still works as evidenced by SoulSilver, I can’t help but hope for a new Pokémon title that breaks some new ground.
Although the gyms and Johto region remain unaltered, the game has plenty of new features to make the experience feel fresh for even the most seasoned Pokémon trainer.
I'm a retrogamer (and an old person ) and i played this game for the first time in 2022 (Without trying the gb version back in the **** i don't feel nostalgia.
It's a classic game, simple (it was created for young players) fun to play on Nds and Ndsi that has fun minigames that takes advantage of Ds stylus.
Lots of contents, good strategy, tons of pokemon.
It has a certain enphasis on other player interaction because exchanging pokemon with other players to complete pokedex and level up monsters is reccomended for speed up story progression (but it isn't mandatory)
Multyplayer interactions in modern time is very limited and require some preparation for obvious reason (servers are down for example) .
it isn't aged **** suffer of a certain amount of grinding, backtracking, long travel distances and time day event that slow overall progression (and enjoyment) of the **** is a bit repetitive.
But considering it's age, is fun to try for "historical" purpose.
The most packed pokemon game, with a post-game second quest, a selection of touch screen minigames, and a battle frontier. Visually, the game is a nice remake of the GBC classic. Updating the battle systems to Gen4 lets you use a few new moves than you could before, but mostly doesn't change the overall flow of the main game too much.
The legendary pokemon have had a few more story elements placed around them, which I didn't quite like. I think it was better when the legendaries were just mysterious pokemon that you had to go and find on your own, not pokemon that have a weird cult following in one form or another, and that must be encountered to progress the main storyline.
The single biggest drawback of this game is that the EXP curve and type distribution of the enemies is rather poorly done towards the end of the game, and training to get those final levels for the elite four is just a grinding slog. Pokemon has always has problems with grinding, particularly when trying to level up newly bred pokemon in the post-game. In SoulSilver it's particularly noticeable above level 50, and you need to get well in to the 60s for the Elite 4 Round 2 matches, so you're stuck with a long boring period towards the end of the storyline.
I'm willing to forgive them though, because you get two whole regions to explore as it is. I'd still say that this is the best of the pokemon games.
Besides the terrible level curve. It has the same bad distribution from the GS games and basically fixed nothing: every single problem is back, but with the ugly sprites from the dp games. The legendaries were shoving in at inconvenient places, ruining their original lore completely.
It's also highly expensive, in part due an add on app thats underused and you won't need, so I only recomend this game if you are a collector that want them all. Otherwise, stick to gsc.
Highly overrated. It's unfortunate to me to say it but it just doesn't stand the test of time: the charm, style, music and design of the original GSC games is completely absent, replaced by safe, boring music that's not even a fraction of how memorable the original was, generic sprites and an ugly overworld that doesnt make good use of what the ds could do. Worse: it has good aditions actually locked away through events that are now impossible to get, entire story bits no less that could have made the game better and more unique, not just event pokemon. The level scaling is also made worse than before despite the aditions its gen had.
I recommend Crystal instead for the better Johto experience unless you really want the pokewalker app (nowadays hard to get) or want to transfer your cyndaquil to newer games.
SummaryReturn to the beloved Johto region first introduced in the Pokémon Gold and Silver Version games for the portable Game Boy system. Several new enhancements for the series, such as updated graphics and touch screen features, enrich these timeless adventures, and the new Pokéwalker accessory allows players to take their favorite Pokémon wi...